Chapter 177: Chapter 177- fight
While Karl was basking in warmth and laughter, things on Morrison’s side were anything but peaceful.
He’d gone hiking with Lilian that afternoon. When she got thirsty, Morrison headed down the trail to buy water. Left alone, Lilian idly picked up his phone—only to freeze when she saw the notifications.
A flood of new friend requests.
All from "people nearby."
Her chest tightened, anger flaring.
Seriously? He couldn’t stand a little boredom without resorting to quick-match apps? Everyone knew those things had a sky-high cheating rate.
So this was his so-called loyalty?
And to think the lord had personally urged their marriage just this morning. With him still playing around like this, how could she ever consider marrying him?
By the time Morrison returned with water, Lilian’s face was already stormy.
"Care to explain this?" she snapped, shoving the phone at him.
Morrison’s expression darkened as he realized what she’d seen. He let out a steady breath, voice low.
"If I told you I tapped on those by accident... would you believe me?"
Lilian’s laugh was bitter.
"What do you think?"
She didn’t wait for an answer. With a sharp turn, she slammed the car door open, stepped out, and walked away, leaving Morrison standing there with the bottled water still in his hands.
Morrison bolted out of the car, chasing after her. He caught up quickly, pulling her into his arms before she could storm off. His face was tight with frustration, his voice low and earnest.
"I swear—it really was just a slip of my finger."
The evening air was cool, yet a bead of sweat slid down his temple. That was how desperate he felt.
"You went to the restroom, remember? I was waiting, nothing to do, so I opened the app. One wrong tap, and suddenly a flood of strangers started sending requests. That’s all it was."
The truth was, if Lilian hadn’t caught it, he wouldn’t even have noticed. He’d glanced once, seen no work messages, and locked the screen again. But now? Now it looked damning, and he knew his credibility with her—and with her family—was already hanging by a thread.
Why would he even need that kind of app? With his background, his career, his face—he’d never lacked women chasing after him. And yet he hadn’t wanted any of them. Only her. Always her.
But Lilian was in no mood to listen. She struggled in his embrace, her eyes flashing.
"Who would believe that?"
Her laugh was sharp, mocking.
"Morrison, if you can’t control yourself, then why keep pestering me at all?"
Her words cut deep, sharper with every syllable.
"You can’t stand being alone for even a moment. Don’t tell me you’ve spent the past year pining after me—when most likely, you’ve been using this to find other women behind my back!"
Morrison’s jaw tightened, his face clouding over. Her suspicion struck harder than any blow. She had no idea—no idea how he had lived the past year in ascetic loneliness, buried in work, his mind consumed by her and only her. How could she reduce all of that to this?
"Lilian!" His voice cracked out, harsh, more serious than he had ever sounded with her.
He hadn’t even begun to scold her when he saw it—her eyes filling with tears, her expression crumpling into wounded grievance. His anger shattered instantly, replaced by helplessness.
If she wanted to lash out at him, let her. If she wanted to accuse, to wound him with words, he would take it all. As long as she vented her fury, as long as she wasn’t crying like this.
His arms tightened around her, his voice softening to a murmur.
"Alright, alright... I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have raised my voice. If it makes you feel better... then hit me instead."
Morrison was out of options. They were supposed to be out having fun, not creating a scene in public—but with so many people around, he couldn’t care less anymore. He even blurted out the most humiliating plea he could think of: that she could hit him if it made her feel better.
But Lilian was too furious to be swayed.
When she’d seen all those friend requests flooding his phone, her blood had boiled instantly. Given his reputation, could she really be blamed? Now, with this mess thrown in her face, all the old doubts and wounds only cut deeper.
And when he’d raised his voice at her... her hurt had only multiplied.
So now, no matter what he said, nothing could soothe her. She shoved him hard, eyes brimming red, and choked out,
"Who cares about hitting you? If I can’t even hold onto your heart, what good would hitting you do?"
The words left him stunned—before she spun on her heel and bolted.
A taxi pulled up at that exact moment, and without a backward glance, Lilian dove inside. The door slammed, the car pulled away, and just like that, she was gone.
Morrison stood frozen for half a heartbeat, then cursed under his breath and rushed back to his own car.
He started the engine, pulling out to chase the taxi down.
This was insane. The day had been planned so perfectly: a simple mountain hike, a casual lunch, then maybe heading back to her place or his for a nap—
and perhaps some much-needed intimacy afterward.
But reality? Reality was brutal.
Now he was tailing a cab through city traffic, his pulse pounding, his plans in ruins.
Who would have thought things would spiral like this? Morrison’s patience snapped completely. While waiting at a red light, he uninstalled every one of those useless apps from his phone. From now on, anyone needing him would have to call—no shortcuts, no excuses.
Meanwhile, Lilian had taken a taxi straight back to Burg Eltz. Morrison called her repeatedly along the way, but she ignored every call.
When the taxi finally pulled up in front of the old estate, she paid the fare and was about to step inside—but froze.
If she went straight in, her family would inevitably notice they’d argued. And if she explained the reason, it would only make them think worse of him.
Despite her anger, her heart still considered him. Over the course of the ride, she’d calmed down, her anger simmering rather than boiling over. She didn’t want their conflict to escalate to irreparable levels—so she hesitated.
No surprise then, that Morrison, driving closely behind, caught up. Lilian shot him an irritated glance.
"I’m going to my brother’s place!"
"Fine! I’ll take you wherever you want," Morrison replied immediately.
Grudgingly, Lilian climbed back into his car, planning to head to Dave’s house to confide in Laurent without alerting her parents.
But Morrison had other plans. As soon as he started the engine, he veered away from Dave’s route and headed toward his own place.
Lilian nearly exploded.
"What are you doing? I’m going to my brother’s!"
Morrison, shameless as ever, answered calmly,
"Once we’ve sorted out our issues, I’ll drop you off at your brother’s."
"I want out!" she snapped, exasperated.
But Morrison didn’t flinch. He drove steadily toward his residence, fully aware why she had paused at the Burg Eltz estate.
She had intended to go to Dave’s house—not to inconvenience him or damage his image in front of her family.
Morrison felt a pang of both gratitude and guilt. She might be young, but she was thoughtful and considerate, even in moments like this.